6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  02/13/2025  |  Pastor's Letter

We Are Blessed Sacrament: It’s a different world in today’s Gospel. Jesus turns all our notions of what is good and desired and makes it upside down in St. Luke’s version of The Sermon on the Mount. Now that his twelve apostles have been selected, Jesus teaches and prepares them for their mission. “Get used to ‘different’ from now on.”

For example, you are blessed in your poverty, hunger, sorrow, and isolation. Following Jesus is not going to be easy. But those who have the courage to follow Christ will enjoy eternal happiness forever happiness, not the passing “happiness” of our temporal world.

This had to be difficult to hear. The Messiah, after all, was supposed to deliver the Jews from oppression (in the usual understanding), not tell them that they should be happy in their torment. But Jesus preached what needed to be heard, not necessarily what people wanted to hear. He shocked the crowds, reminding the sorrowful that good would come from this suffering, and cautioning the self-assured that self-centered satisfaction leads to regret in the next life.

Pray that we draw closer to God through our own suffering. And may contentment in our good fortune on Earth not blind us to opportunities, such as by very generously supporting the 2025 Diocese of Phoenix Charity & Development Appeal, to address the needs of others among us.

The Diocese of Phoenix CDA 2025 Charity & Development Appeal Theme: “Hope Does Not Disappoint” “Here I am Lord, send me!”

The good news is you don’t have to do much. You can do your part by simply supporting the CDA which begins this weekend, February 15/16. Lisa Wentz will be with us at all Masses to explain how the CDA helps so many groups in our Diocese. Thank you if you have already made your pledge.